And This Is Sokka
by babytylee
Summary: This is about Sokka. His life. His love. His love for meaty foods. This is the story he deserved but never got after ATLA and before LOK.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: What's Next?

I don't know what to do anymore. I am in a different place in my life now and the only person I can talk to is Dad. He'll know what to say. I can talk to him without getting the oogies or a lecture, which I would definitely get from Aang and Katara. With a shiver at the thought of those two love birds, I got up from my cot and looked around my igloo. It is a wreck but I know where all my things are nonetheless. I keep my seal jerky in bundles and stash them in different parts of the igloo. Reaching beneath my stack of maps, I break off a piece of seal jerky. Meat is the only way to keep me calm at a time like this.

I stick the piece of jerky between my teeth and quickly throw on my coat and gloves. Then I resume to gnawing away at my jerky, throw on my boots, and step outside of my home. Everything is completely covered in snow and the sky is an overcast shade of white above me. There are a few kids playing in the snow while their moms prepare food to sell outside for the day. The village is calm and well fed thanks to the goods my team and I brought back. After observing the normalness of today, I shrug and let my feet carry me over to my dad's office. My mind on the other hand is in overdrive. I am way too focused on the talk I'll have with dad and I am asking a thousand questions like what will he say? Will he agree with me? What if this is all in my head?

These thoughts follow me until I reach the steps leading to the village tribunal. It's one of the biggest buildings in the Southern Water Tribe and it's decorated with depictions of our people's history. I pull open one of the main doors with most of my strength and enter the main corridor. I brush past a few members of the tribe that I travel with for importing with the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. They attempt to wave at me but I pass them too quickly. I can't get distracted from having this conversation. If I don't have it now, who knows what will happen.

After what seems like forever, I finally maneuver my way to Hakoda's office. I see him sitting at his desk with a serious look on his face and a map in his hand. He doesn't notice me as I glance at him and then his desk plaque that bears his name and title as Chieftain. I approach him and gulp as he looks at me for the first time.

"Sokka! What are you up to? I thought you would be resting. It's only been two days since your last voyage." Hakoda says with a grin.

I place my hand on the back of my neck and smile "I am definitely still tired, but I came here to talk to you…about something that I think you will understand."

Hakoda places his hand on his chin and leans back in his chair to get a better look at me. "This sounds serious. What is it that you need? Take a seat. Here." He gestures towards one of the chairs in front of his desk.

I sit in one of the chairs and let out a sigh. Here's my chance. "So you know Suki and I have been together for years and we see each other a couple times a year. We write each other letters but sometimes they get lost on the way. It's just- I mean, how did you and mom get through the distance? I don't know why, but lately I am constantly thinking about how I want to be with her more, but I want her here, in our tribe."

Hakoda nods with his eyes closed. "I understand. You're ready to settle down, and start a family. You're ready to no longer have the feeling of missing your girlfriend. Maybe someday soon she'll be your wife?" he looks at me and I feel a nervous smile form on my face.

"Yeah, Dad. I don't know what to do. Suki's like me, she cares about her people on Kyoshi Island. She already spends her time in the Fire Nation too." I say with some relief.

"Suki is definitely strong willed like you. I don't know how much advice I can give but I'll try. Your mother and I were different too. She had the strength to stay and take care of the village while I had what she called the bravery to leave and protect our tribe. I think that we made it work because I made sure I came home to her and she never left. She was always there waiting for me. She kept me together, and we got even stronger once we decided to grow our family. I think you're feeling the need for Suki to be in one place, so that you can always return to her." He looks at me as I being to nod in agreement.

"You're right Dad. That's exactly what I want, and I don't want to write her a letter to tell her that."

"Go to her. Talk to her, and work together to decide what you both will do from here on out. You two have stuck together for all of these years. I think it's time that you live with each other. You're adults now. The world doesn't need saving right anymore. Enjoy that while it lasts. It's time to be with Suki." Hakoda says, his eyes gazing directly at me.

I let out another sigh. This talk has gone exactly the way I wanted it to. I had already packed my bag for the journey the night before. "Thanks. This is exactly what I needed. I wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy before I decided to hop on a boat and sail out to her." I say with a small smile. My hand subconsciously going to the back of my neck again.

"You've done crazier things than this before. Don't worry about the others. I'll let them know that you won't be joining them on their next trade with Ba Sing Se. I want you to be happy Sokka. Now go on, go." Hakoda says, rising from his chair to put his hand on my shoulder.

I put my hand on his shoulder and nod "I'll be back soon. Don't raid my meat stash while I'm gone."

Hakoda laughs and shakes his head at me "I've got work to do and so do you Sokka. Good luck." He begins to sit down again at his desk and reaches for the map he laid down. It was covered in new routes that help make trade voyages and political trips faster or more bearable depending on the distance.

I nod at him with a grin and quickly leave his office with the best sense of relief. I am ready. I can do this. If I leave today, I won't have time to change my mind. I somehow find myself almost back to my igloo in no time. I climb inside and grab my pack from beside my cot. I open it and reveal that the only things I packed were a map, food, and my weapons. Perfect. This should last me until I hit land somewhere. I gather some money and wrap it into a bag that is thrown into my pack. I sling my bag over my shoulder and walk to the entrance of my igloo.

I turn to face my home and take it all in. The pots, the meat stashes, piles of maps, clothes and bed in one corner of the room that will be waiting for me when I come back. Hopefully Suki will come with me and see this place for herself. With one last glance, I turn and leave my igloo. It's time.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Hey Suki

The three week long journey to the Fire Nation is a blur to me. Probably because I have been thinking about Suki nonstop and I ran out of jerky on the second week of the trip. I stowed my boat at an old dock and tossed my winter clothes in my pack again. The sun is literally beaming on me, and it just reminds me even more that I am in the Fire Nation for what feels like the hundredth time. I smiled to myself as I realized that I would get to see Suki's face for the first time in months. Then I secured my boomerang on my belt and started heading to Zuko's palace.

Suki has been splitting her time in half between the Fire Nation and Kyoshi Island for years. Zuko agrees to try and have political meetings and Firelord business scheduled towards the end of the year so that Suki can spend the first half of each year in her home. She spends that part of the year with her family and trains girls to fight. Some of the strong ones eventually get to travel with her to work for Zuko because he prefers the Kyoshi Warriors over his own fire nation body guards. Hopefully she's not too busy now.

As I make my way through the city I can feel the difference that Aang and Zuko have made on this place. I see families dressed in Earth Kingdom traditional clothing buying food from Fire Nation farmers and it seems like everyone is starting to tone down the whole "everything needs to be the color red" look. I'm still one of the only Water Tribe members out here, but still. Those of us that aren't fire benders, don't feel scared. I'm glad Suki gets to be here when people seem to be getting along better.

I approach the palace and suck in a breath. I decide against meeting up with Zuko first, I'll just go straight to Suki and go from there. I walk the outer perimeter of the palace and spot the painted faces of some of Suki's sisters. Surprisingly one spots me immediately and rushes towards me.

"Sokka?" a girl with long black hair says.

"Yeah, that's me. Do you know where-"

"Suki's on the top balcony of the east wing of the palace. She's taking her shift there for a few hours so you can't miss her." She immediately responds.

"How do you-"

"Suki has told us all about you. I know she will be happy to see you." The girl says with a small smile. She was wearing traditional Kyoshi armor and her golden fans were fastened to her belt. They were beautiful and deadly.

"Thanks, uh-"

"Jade. See you around Sokka." She answers me quickly before heading back to the other warriors that were waiting for her.

I start heading towards the east wing and try to ignore my nerves. I usually just feel relief when I am about to meet with her, but today feels different. I'll basically be asking her if she wants to settle down with me and I don't really know what she'll say. Hopefully she will agree with me, and then we can talk with Zuko about Ty Lee taking over Suki's responsibilities. But, there is still a chance that she won't go for it. That is what's making me sweat, and this fiery heat!

I shift from a fast paced walk, to an angry stomp as I continue to look for this east wing. They really need to put some signs around here or something. The entire palace looks exactly the same. Red building. Flamey flags. Cement paths that lead to more red buildings.

Well, now that I am in front of another fiery red building with a fancy balcony, let me look up for any sign of Suki. I wipe some sweat from my forehead with one hand and then use the other to make some shade for my eyes as I look up. The balcony looks empty for a second, but then I do a double take and see something move. It's well hidden and immediately, I know it's her. So I wave frantically, shouting "SUKI! It's me!"

She freezes, and then steps out into my view and says "Sokka?"

I nod and watch as she walks to the edge of the balcony to see me more clearly. Then I realize that I didn't actually say anything. "Yes! It's me, Sokka! How do I get up there?"

"I'll be right down! Then we can walk back up here together!" Suki shouts down at me and I feel a little bit of relief. I'm still a nervous wreck, but it's nice to finally hear her voice.

I wait patiently in the boiling sun and look down at the paved path I am standing on. Why don't they have shaded pathways around this place? Suki must be dying of heat out here. I look up and see her rush over to me. She's in her traditional Kyoshi warrior gear and she looks almost exactly the same as she did when we first met. The only difference now is her hair looks a little longer.

We instantly hug and I hope that that my sweat doesn't somehow rub on her. My heart is also still pounding a mile a minute. She pulls back and looks at me. Then we kiss and I pull back to ask if we can head to the shade. She gets out of our embrace and starts leading me to the entrance of the east wing without letting me speak. Without a second thought, I follow her.

We climb some stairs to get back up to the balcony and hands me a canteen of water.

"I always pack two for the day. It can get extremely hot out here especially in the summer. But Sokka, what are you doing here?" she says, and then takes out another canteen for herself.

We are standing in the doorway leading to the balcony, leaning against the sides of the doorway and facing one another. "I wanted to see you, and more importantly I wanted to talk to you. I didn't even look for Zuko to meet with him. I came straight to you." I tell her.

She looks at me with concern "What's wrong? Is everyone okay?"

"Everyone's fine, and nothing's wrong. I know we don't usually see each other randomly but I just wanted to talk to you face to face. I wanted to talk to you about us." I say as my voice wavers. My nerves are still trying to get the best of me but I try not to let it show.

"Oh, well okay. What do we need to talk about? The distance?" Suki looks at me, probably searching for the smile I usually have when I visit her. Right now, I am pretty sure I look like a mess.

"That and just our relationship as a whole. I just think that we should start settling down. Together. I don't want to have this distance between us anymore. I know that things will be different but, I think it will all work out." I tell her, trying to reassure the both of us.

She looks in my eyes and grabs my hand "I know that the distance can be rough but we're strong. We have been long distance for our entire relationship. Why do you want it to change now?"

"We're not kids anymore, and I feel like you are what's missing in my life right now. We write to each other and visit but when I come back from trading voyages, it's always the same empty igloo. I want to come home to you, Suki." I say and suddenly, I feel like my nerves calm down a bit.

She squeezes my hand "I know that feeling too. I come home to an empty place but I know in my heart that you're out there, and that's enough for me. It's just- I can't just drop everything to be with you. We both have so much going on. There has to be another way."

This was the response I knew I would get. "Yeah, but we'll always have a lot going on. I think that if we get on the same page, things will be easier. You'll see. We just have to try." I wait for her response, hoping that this will be the part where she starts coming around.

"Sokka…I don't think I can be the one that's waiting around for you while you're gone." She says hesitantly.

"You can come with me then! We can work together until we decide to start a family. Things might change after that. We can talk to Zuko and your family on Kyoshi Island. Then all we'll have to do is-"

"I can't Sokka. I don't think I will ever be able to give up what I'm doing now. I can't just leave what I've been working hard on and never come back. The only other option would be if you stayed here with me. You could still help your village, just from so…far away." She sighs.

"That doesn't even sound right after saying it. I mean, we're still happy like this, and I never want to lose you. You mean so much to me." Suki says while looking down at my feet.

She's definitely starting to feel how I have been feeling lately. Lost. "I don't want to lose you either. We can't go on like this forever though" I say, and she looks back up into my eyes. It happens so quickly that I flinch, and wonder what she'll say next.

"You're right. I know this won't always work for us. There's only one way for us to be truly happy in the end. It won't start off that way, but it's all we have." Suki turns her body towards the entrance to the balcony and folds her arms across her chest. She's worried.

"What do you mean?" I say looking at her.

"We won't be together anymore. This will never work if we're always like this, working constantly, and living worlds apart."

I take a step towards her and move my arms to grab her and spin her towards me, but she is one step ahead of me. She turns toward me and puts her hand on my cheek.

"I know what you're going to say, but we have to do this. We won't ever be happy if we go on like this. We'll still care for each other." She says, trying to reassure me.

"I'm not ending this relationship with you! I love you." I say loudly. She can't be serious. There has to be something else we can do.

"I know this is going to be hard for the both of us, but we have to try. If this doesn't work out either, we'll always be able to find each other again. We always do." She takes my hand. My mind is spinning, and my heart is racing.

"You are actually serious about this. I don't want to lose you." My voice shakes.

"You won't! I'll always be here for you, and you know that. Things might be changing soon, but it will all work out, okay?" Suki says with a small smile. I look at her, and I can tell that she won't change her mind. The thought of no longer being with Suki isn't pleasant. I try to hold back the tears that are welling up in my eyes.

She pulls me in and kisses me. I feel all of her worry and love in that kiss and then kiss her back. What are we going to do now? That question lingers over my head until Suki suddenly pulls back. She looks outside and then back at me.

"My shift is over. One of the girls should be coming to this post now. We can take the back exit and head to my place. I don't want to talk anymore."

I nod and let her lead the way while holding her hand. I try not to think about what will happen tomorrow. I just want to be with her right now. She lives just outside of Zuko's place and it doesn't take us long to get there. We don't talk on our way and I barely even notice my surroundings. It would all look the same to me anyway. We have way too much on our minds.

She unlocks the door to her house. It is literally the same as my igloo, just made out of different material. It's small and mostly empty. She has the bare minimum for survival, and a ton of gear spread out across the small space. Her bed is in a corner, next to a dresser with weapons and clothes piled on top of it. I look back at her without saying anything. Surprisingly, I'm already starting to get used to her longer hair.

She takes my hand again and walks me over to her bed. We face each other and don't even attempt to talk. We kiss like we haven't seen each other in years, and toss ourselves onto her bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Flaming Date

Sunlight creeps in through the window near Suki's bed and hits me right on my face. I sit up and look down at Suki, who is sleeping soundly beside me. Yesterday was filled with so many mixed emotions. We spent the rest of the afternoon together, and bought as much fish as we could carry. Then we prepared enough food to feed a small army and feasted on it once it was ready. We talked for hours, the way we would when we normally visited each other. The only thing we wouldn't mention again, was our plan to break up.

Things really were changing for both of us. Suki was playing an even bigger role on her island. She works closely with the island's leaders to make sure that Kyoshi Island won't be forgotten and becomes a part of the technology and trade movements. She was also working closely with Zuko to help him understand the needs of people that aren't from the Fire Nation, but have migrated here in the past few years. I'm just so proud of her, and no matter how much our lives might change, she's still the same Suki. She still laughs at all of my jokes and tucks her hair behind her ear to get a better look at me. I tried to take in all of her habits in so much detail last night, because I know that these memories will be all that I will have for a while.

I reach over her to try to block out the sunlight coming from her window and then ease back into bed. She doesn't even move as I pull her a little close to me. I try to fall asleep again, so that I can hold on to her a little longer.

I drifted off to sleep for about an hour when all of the sudden Suki moves and elbows me in my side. My eyes open instantly and I try to hold back the shout of pain that's rising in my throat. I watch as she moves around and finally sits up and looks at me. She squints her eyes at me and says "You look like you're going to cry."

I let out a painful breath and say "You just elbowed me really hard and woke me up!"

She kisses me on my cheek and tries to apologize. I just sit there for a moment to let the pain pass. When she notices that I didn't say anything, she starts playing with my ponytail.

That's when I start to feel the pain subside "Hey! Don't touch the hair." I try to say seriously.

She smiles "Well now you want to talk."

"I couldn't even talk from how painful your elbows are" I say with a laugh "but don't worry, that pain went away finally."

She kisses me "Good!"

She climbs over me and gets out of bed. Then she starts to pull her hair into a high ponytail like mine and heads to the kitchen. I swing my legs over the bed and get up too.

"It's a good thing I am off today. I have a feeling I would be pretty late otherwise" she says as she goes through some of her drawers.

I nod and walk over to her. Then she hands me a toothbrush and says "I knew I had these somewhere. You can use the bathroom first. I don't mind."

I take the toothbrush in one hand and use the other to pull on her ponytail. She pulls away and smiles at me again. It's like everything is so normal but in the back of my mind I know that this isn't an average morning.

I go to the bathroom and get ready quickly. I wash my face and look into the mirror carefully. I have stubble on my face, my ponytail is still crooked, and I look extremely tired. Well, the only thing I can do right now is fix the hair. I adjust it and step outside to find Suki waiting for me.

I let her step inside the bathroom and then make my way to the kitchen. I pull out the leftover rice and start frying up some more fish for our breakfast, or lunch depending on what time it is. I can only make like three different meals so we're about to have the Sokka special I guess.

I start cutting the fish without paying too much attention. Preparing fish for cooking is like second nature to me. As I'm separating everything I notice that Suki has my letters in stacks on the kitchen window sill. The stack is huge and she even has one of my drawings pushed between the edges of the window to stay in place. I think it was a drawing of her I did a few years back. I never realized that she kept all of my letters.

Suki walks toward me as I turn away from her kitchen window and face the fish in front of me. She takes the parts of the fish we don't eat and puts it in a container. Apparently there are some turtle ducks that she gives this stuff to.

I prepare our food while Suki clears a space for us to eat and starts to clean up a bit. In this moment I start to realize how much I want us to live like a real couple. I try to shake the thought out of my head, and finish cooking a little faster.

We eat and talk about how much fun last night was. Then we finish off our plates and clean everything up again. I start heading to the bed and lay back down with my arms crossed behind my head. I am stuffed and I honestly don't know what will come next.

Suki climbs over me and then lays down next to me again. We both look up at the ceiling and then turn to face one another.

"What do you want to do?" she says softly.

I smile "Let's just have a real date. Take our minds off of everything for a change."

She smiles too "Sounds good to me."

I know it might sound crazy, but we never go on dates. Usually it's not by choice but still. We end up being too exhausted, or busy, to do simple things like go to the beach for the day or walk in the park, or even eat at a restaurant. Our time together is usually spent at our jobs or at Suki's house, where we just catch up and hope that our time doesn't go by too quickly. Now, we have the chance to enjoy ourselves, doing "regular" couple stuff, and I'm going to try to forget that this will be our last time being together.

We leave Suki's house and get hit with the hot sun again. We brought water for the day so even the heat won't stop us from our journey to the beach. People walk around us as we cut through the city and make our way to the docks. I let out a sigh of relief when I see that my boat is still there. Suki tosses the bag of food and water into the boat while I start to pull it back into the water. We work together so seamlessly but I can't make a joke about it without making things a little awkward. Instead, I just help suki step into the boat before I clamber in and steer the boat east, towards Ember Island. It will take us at least an hour to get there but it will be worth it.

Suki starts to talk about her work with Zuko, so naturally I crack jokes about him and she tries her best not to laugh too much.

"I mean, anyone can do an impression of him! When we first met him, it was all "Honor!" and "Uncle!" and "My father will crush your dreams." Now it's more like "Why doesn't everyone want peace?" and "I'm Firelord, not my father!"" I say with my best Zuko voice.

Suki laughs and says "Yeah, you're right and you're not even around him as much as I am. He's come a long way, just like all of us."

I nod and we start to talk about old memories of being on team Avatar. No matter what happens, we still talk about them like it was yesterday. We wonder aloud if we would have ever found each other if it weren't for Aang. We also wish the Sky Bison were still around so that we could have our own. They're the best way to travel.

We arrive at Ember Island and it's perfect. The sand is fine and white, the water is clear, and there are hardly any people around today. We bring the boat ashore and head to the water again to swim with the waves and cool down from the heat. I don't know how we've never managed to do this before. I could stay in this moment forever. Floating in the water with Suki, and food waiting for us when we go back to shore.


End file.
